Ash Ketchum: The Last Stand
by Guest98101
Summary: How I think Ash's journey should end. Ash goes against team Rocket. Big time. He's returned to Pallet Town, and this time the whole of Team Rocket, Giovanni included, decide to take Pallet Town. One side will fall after this, and we'll see some closure to at least a few story arcs. This will have every main character in it as well. Some Amourshipping.
1. Homecoming

Ash Ketchum was finally home. Having travelled through the Kalos Region with his good friends; Clemont, Bonnie and Serena, he was tired and needed a rest. It had been such a blast – with the region finishing for the first time in the finals! He had gotten so close – unfortunately a clash between Mega-Charizards had ended his dreams, and an older trainer, Alan, had beaten him at the very end. But now he was home. It felt weird – for the first time since he'd started on his journey he didn't have a plan. There were no new regions that he knew of, no new challenges that had arisen on his journey. He felt... dazed.

_Ah well, I'll figure out my next step tomorrow._

He lay back on the soft grass of his backyard. It was late, and the sun had almost set over the great mountains to the north.

"Pika pi?" inquired Pikachu, bounding up Ash from the direction of the Plantation.

"Hey buddy," replied Ash "How are they all?"

"Pika!" his friend reassured, finding a place next to him. They paused, looking up at the stars – endless possibilities out there, new regions, new Pokemon, new leagues...

"Boy, the world sure is a big place." Whispered Ash.

"Pika" was the calm reply.

"And we're gonna keep exploring it!"

"Chu!" Ash turned to face Pikachu.

"Pikachu, remember back when we began this adventure, how we hated each other! While I always dreamed of becoming a Pokemon Master, I never thought I'd get... well here..."

"Pikachu?"

"No... I'm not resentful, I'm just... it's a lot harder than it seemed... I thought I'd be a champion a long time ago... I thought I could make it through the league, reach the Elite 4, and even challenge Red!"

"Pika..."

"But then... I guess looking at it, I'm stronger than I thought I'd be – I've seen so much, trained so hard, and now look at us; I don't think I'd really recognise myself now! Wow... we've been on this adventure for a long time..."

They lay back and continued to look up toward the stars. Serena smiled as she watched over the balcony, Fennekin perched next to her. While Ash was unaware, tomorrow was his birthday, and his mum had arranged a surprise for them. Ash would enjoy tomorrow! But still, for all the fun and excitement over the past few days, she was troubled. Ash still didn't seem to recognise the big crush she had for him, and despite her best efforts, he still remained unaware of her struggles. Luckily Millifeui hadn't turned up again, and there hadn't been any more competition with any girls over Ash. But she knew she had to act soon. Tomorrow. She decided to tell him tomorrow.

* * *

"So, you morons spent the last 6 months in the Kalos region, unable to find anything related to Mega Evolution, and once again wasted tonnes of Rocket funding?!" Boomed Giovanni. Jessie, James and Meowth had returned to Team Rocket's headquarters for a de-brief. Being that they had failed yet again, their job prospects didn't look promising.

"We were tracing Pikachu." Replied Jessie, as calmly as she could. Giovanni grunted – the Pikachu they had been chasing was strong, and could be valuable in some of their new missions.

"Yes... And just how did that go?" The three gulped.

"Well sir..." Began Meowth, before James interrupted:

"You see sir, as we develop, they develop! We keep on bringing new schemes and ideas to the plate, but each time we throw something new at them, they have something new to throw back at us! We've tried everything sir, and we're exhausted – the only reason we keep trying to get Pikachu is to hold up Team Rocket's name! A small Pikachu should be an easy catch, but not this one! In all honesty, we don't know where to go with this, so you may as well fire us and try to bush this situation under the carpet..." James collapsed to the floor in defeat.

Jessie panicked. What had James done?! They were really in for it now! A long silence followed. Slowly Giovanni nodded in approval.

"Your reasoning is sound James, and I thank you for being honest with me." Began the Boss, "It is obvious this ignorant child is above a standard threat, I've seen an issue like this before. It is time he was eliminated. Where is he now?"

Jessie was speechless. The boss had accepted their truthful response?! Meowth finally spoke:

"He has returned home to Pallet town, but I'm afraid it will not be easy sir, Proffessor Oak's plantation resides there, with around 50 trained Pokemon!"

_Pallet town_. That place had an issue with creating youngsters – first Red, and now Ash? _It was time to stop that. _He turned to his Secretary standing next to him.

"Bring all Team Rocket units in! Mobilise the forces! We march on Pallet town!"


	2. Reunion

"ASH KETCHUM!"

Ash awoke with a start to see his mother standing over him.

"Wh-wha..." he groaned slowly trying to stand up. The ground felt funny. Wait – now he knew the reason his mom had shouted.

"You slept outside the whole night?!"

"Sorry mom..." Ash slowly got to his feet. Delia sighed – raising Ash had been quite challenging, but now that he was growing into a man, she needed to make sure he was still setting himself good boundaries.

"It's alright Ash. Go and get dressed, the professor wants to see you."

* * *

30 minutes later, Ash, Delia, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie were on their way to Oak's Lab. The gravel tracks, fresh air and green fields all around them was what made Pallet Town special. If it hadn't been for his burning desire of becoming a Master, he may have never left.

"How is the professor mom?" he finally asked.

"He's doing great, hun!" was the reply "Though he really does need to slow down now, what with Red and Gary going off to all those far-off regions, he's been filing hundreds of Pokemon! The search still goes on, and there's now about a thousand discovered Pokemon."

"Really?!" Ash grinned. Obviously there were a lot more regions to discover. "More regions! Awesome! Let's go Pikachu!" with that, he began running forward.

"Wait up, Ash" Cried Delia, as they all ran after him. But Ash was already half way up Oak's drive.

"Professor Oak! I-" Ash burst into the Lab... and stopped.

"Happy Birthday Ash!" cheered a chorus of friends. Ash couldn't believe it – everyone was there! Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, Iris... Even Casey and Ritchie! Speechless, Ash stood for a few minutes taking it all in. There was something around 40 people there – never had he been with so many friends in one place. Serena and Clemont came up behind him.

"Surprise?" Serena mumbled. Then the spell was broken. Laughing, Ash ran to his friends, shaking hands, catching up, and eating food. The party had begun! The buffet was enormous, with food from every region. The combined efforts of Cilan, Serena and Delia were something to see!

"Hope you like this Ash," said Oak coming up to him, "Though I'm afraid you're a bit early, a couple of people aren't here yet-" At that moment a Loud crash echoed from outside the Lab. "Oh dear! That could be someone now."

"I bet I know who it is!" Laughed Ash, running back out of the Lab.

* * *

"Alright, I'm fining you! You have exactly 10 seconds to pay up! 9! 8! 7! 6!"

"Hi Barry!" said Ash, coming up to the gateway of Oak Labs, where Barry, Bianca, and somewhat damaged bike were lying in heap on the threshold.

"Oh hi Ash, and happy birthday!" replied Barry, a bit happier this time.

"Thanks," Grinned Ash "This is Bianca by the way, I met her while travelling around Unova."

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry for running into Barry!" exclaimed Bianca, "I'm always doing this, Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry!"

"Guys, it's all good and we can probably get your bike fixed around here," Ash said, quickly moving on.

"Nice, well PARTY TIME!" Exclaimed Barry, rushing up the drive, closely followed by the plaintive cries of Bianca's "Wait for me!"

"Well that's all except one," reported Oak, who with Serena, had decided to join Ash down at the gate.

"Make that none." Standing on the threshold, with a serious expression, and Murkrow on his shoulder was Paul. But he had changed. He didn't sound cold or dark now, and he looked a bit more like his brother, Reggie.

"Hey Paul, how are things?" said Dawn, coming up to the group. Paul smiled.

"Fine, thanks," he mumbled. Then to professor Oak "I was told there was a tournament here in which I can battle Ash."

"Oh yes I forgot to tell Ash that part," replied Oak "Ash, since it's your birthday, and we all know how much you like battling, we thought about having a knockout tournament between everyone here, no matter what class of trainer they are. Are you up for it?"

"All my friends in one Pokemon tournament?! What could be better?" Shouted Ash "Boy I'm more than up for it, I am so psyched!"

"Good" said Paul "I'll see you in the final." With which he walked up the drive.

"Wow. What's with him?" said Serena.

"Ahhh, don't worry about it," replied Dawn "he and Ash used to be at one another's throats, but it all changed in their league match!" Paul. He had changed so much. But now he was here to beat Ash. And Ash had decided that wasn't going to happen!


	3. Max vs Bonnie

"Hmm, it appears we have a problem," said Prof. Oak, stroking his chin, looking at a big whiteboard, which had on it the table for the tournament. "We appear to be 2 people short." Oak, Ash, Max, Bonnie and Barry were all together, designing the tournament, so that it could get under way.

"So?" replied Max, holding the whiteboard pen, "Can't we just let a couple of people through the first round?"

"I have a better idea!" retorted Ash, "Max, why don't you and Bonnie compete?"

"Um, me?" responded Max nervously "But Ash, I'm too young and I don't have any Pokemon!"

"You can use some of mine – I've got around forty here, so if I lent you the ones I caught in Hoenn, you could join in!"

"Yay! Yay! That's a great idea!" cheered Bonnie, bouncing around like a pogo-stick. "I'll just use Dedenne through the tournament, and we'll win! Yippee!"

"Hmm, that would mean that you 2 would be up against each other first" mumbled the professor.

"That's fine, I'll beat him anyway!" replied Bonnie cheerfully skipping away.

* * *

Outside, around a big table, the girls were having lunch. Dawn, May and Misty were leading the conversation, since they of all people knew most of the others.

"So May, Dawn, how is coordinating going?" asked Misty.

"It's going great!" replied May "I haven't won any major conferences yet, but I've got to a lot of finals, and I'm off to the Kalos region next!"

"Say what?!" Exclaimed Dawn "I'm off there too! The Emerald Conference, right?"

"Yes!" replied May, now equally excited.

"Well there's nothing that's gonna stop me from taking the cup this time so look out!" said Dawn, now standing up.

"I'll be counting on it!" retorted May.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Asked Serena "-I mean Pokemon coordinating... what is it about?"

"You don't know what Coordinating is?!" Dawn was now on fire.

"Um, no sorry Dawn... never heard of it, what do you do exactly?" Before Dawn could respond, a Megaphone sounded:

"And the first match-up of Round 1; Max from the Hoenn region, against Bonnie from the Kalos region, is about to begin!" May and Serena jumped out of their seats.

"Wait, Max?!"

"Bonnie?!"

* * *

Max's nerves had turned into excitement, as the match had got closer, and now he was trembling with excitement. His first Pokemon battle! But what if he blew it? He couldn't – he knew Bonnie's Dedenne was an electric type, and so had asked Ash for Sceptile. He had to win. All of Ash's friends were gathering now, including his sister – would they judge him for not having his own Pokemon? No, he was too young anyway. But what about Bonnie? She had Dedenne... He shook himself, and focused.

"Alright, since the match is one-on-one, both Pokemon must be sent out at the same time, to avoid any advantage!" Yelled the announcer.

"Professor, how did you get the official announcer for the Kanto league here?" inquired Ash.

"Oh, Tom? He's been my friend for a long time, and when he heard you were back in Pallet Town, he decided to pop over." Explained Oak.

"What? Why am I so special?"

"Well Ash, you're quite well-known now in the Kanto region – having almost won quite a few leagues now. While you've still got a long way to the top, you have now shown you have the potential to get there!"

"Uh, Really?" The professor nodded as the battle began.

"Go Dedenne!"

"Sceptile, lets to this!" The two Pokemon came out of their balls with a heckle, and so the match began.

"Alright Ash, what's this? Why is Max on the battlefield?!" Stormed May.

"Uh, chill out May! We were a couple of people short and I decided to let Max and Bonnie in – and for now Max can use my Hoenn Pokemon." Replied Ash nervously. Before May could respond, a crack of a Leaf blade hitting its mark.

"No!" wailed Bonnie – Dedenne was down.

"Time to finish this up!" grinned Max, "Now Sceptile, use dig!" Sceptile leapt forward, and then stopped, turning questioningly toward Max. "What?!" gasped Max.

"Sceptile doesn't know that move Max!" Shouted Ash.

"Uh, in that case-"

"Use Nuzzle!" Shouted Bonnie before Max could finish. Dedenne was already there. With that, a shocking beam of yellow lightning wrapped around Sceptile, who fell to the ground.

"Wha-what?!" cried Max "I thought electric moves aren't effective against grass-types?!"

"That's true," agreed Brock, who had found a place to watch right behind him "but Nuzzle is a powerful move and Dedenne executed it well, now keep your head in the game and you'll be fine!"

"Right! Sceptile use Leaf Storm!"

"Dedenne, Tackle!" But the leaf storm was already there, buffeting Dedenne with sharp, quick leaves. It was too much. Dedenne fell to the floor, unconscious and out of the match.

"Dedenne is unable to battle," called Cilan "So the winner is Max and Sceptile!" Max couldn't believe it – his first Pokemon battle! And he had won!

"Great job Max!" said Ash, running up to him with May, "You really will make a great trainer!"

"I'm so proud of you, Max!" chimed in May "But for the record, I never said that!"

"And the Next Match-up is a battle of gym-leaders!" Boomed Tom "Cilan versus Clemont!"


	4. Relationships

"Go Emboar, use Flame Charge!"

"Empoleon Dodge, and use Steel Wing" Emboar charged forward, surrounded by a ball of flame, toward the Penguin-shaped figure. But too slow. Barry's Empoleon jumped back, using the momentum to begin a charge of Steel Wing. The Flame-Charge was failing, and Emboar was wide open to attack.

"Emboar, dodge it!" Shouted Bianca, now aware of the danger. Emboar turned to her questioningly, unaware of the attack coming from Empoleon behind him. It happened all too quick. "Behind you!" Bianca screamed, pointing at Empoleon, just as the Steel Wing struck. Emboar fell to the floor, dazed. He couldn't take another hit, that was for sure. But how could Bianca win? Empoleon was too fast and powerful for Emboar to land an effective hit on it. There was only one move that might work. _Emboar... Please get up..._

"Empoleon, Hydro Pump!" Emboar stood up.

"Emboar use Take-Down!" Emboar began charging, but at that moment, the Hydro Pump was released, and a torrent of water hit the fire-type hard.

"Emboar is unable to battle – Empoleon wins!"

"Yeah!" Screamed Barry in delight "We won! We won! We won! Great job Empoleon!"

"Oh well, thank-you Emboar" said Bianca resignedly, as she withdrew her pokemon from the field. "You did great!"

* * *

"Oh brother!" Moaned Bonnie, as she sat on the grass a few metres away from the main action. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to defeat Max, Clemont."

"It's alright Bonnie," replied Clemont, "I didn't win my game, and you were against someone older and more experienced."

"I guess you're right" mumbled Bonnie, trying to glare at Max from across the field.

"You and Max may even end up as rivals someday y'know," Continued Clemont, making Bonnie squeal.

"Don't you dare say that!" She shuddered "Otherwise, I'll go up to every girl at this party, and ask them to marry you!" "Or I could do that anyway..." she pondered.

"Don't even think about it!" yelled Clemont.

"Too Late!" laughed Bonnie running off, with Clemont after her.

* * *

The girls were all back in their circle, having mostly won their first battles, and Dawn was explaining to Serena the concept of Pokemon Coordinating.

"So you see it's a bit like what Ash does, but 10 times cooler – and it's much more about showing off a Pokemon's cuteness!" Explained Dawn.

"Wait, so you're saying that there's a whole branch of Pokemon training directed to showing off its cuteness?" asked Serena, thoughtfully.

"Yeah! Pretty cool, right?" replied Dawn cheerfully.

"AHHHHH!" Serena's shriek was so loud and surprising that it caused a few to spill their drinks, the table to shake, and Piplup to run across the table over all the food and drink. "Why didn't anyone tell me this?!"

"Cheer up Serena," reassured Misty, straightening herself "It's never too late to start, and if you continue with Ash, you'll definitely get a chance to try it out – I believe at one point he even entered a couple of contests."

"I guess..." sighed Serena, slowly tidying up after herself "Sorry for the mess I made."

"It's fine, I'm used to it from Ash!" joked May, at which they all laughed.

"Uh, I hate to bring this up," began Casey mischievously, "but when are you gonna like, ask Ash out?" This caused even more shock than Serena's previous comment.

"What?!" Exclaimed Angie in horror, followed by Iris.

"Oh brother!" sighed Dawn, face-palming herself.

"Listen buster!" growled Angie "Ash is mine, and you're not taking him from me!" Iris laughed

"Ha! You two twerps are planning to go out with that little kid?! Give me a break!"

"He's not a little kid!" retorted Serena, now getting annoyed.

"OK guys!" Shouted Dawn "Don't worry, I'm sure we've all had a crush on Ash at one point or another."

"Yeah, right!" muttered Iris.

"Oh yeah?! Dawn I bet you're just trying to get Ash as well, right?!" lashed out Angie.

"What?!" Dawn blushed "No, no, no! I'm not interested in Ash!"

"You better not be!" Growled Angie.

"Hey, I'm right here, Angie!" Piped up Serena "And I'm the one who's actually travelling with Ash at the moment!"

"Yeah? How long of him ignoring you will it take to show that he's not interested?!" Serena opened her mouth to reply, but nothing would come. Those words... tore her. Slowly, she sat down, not daring to look anyone in the face. A long pause. Finally the Megaphone sounded once again.

"And now time for Round 2! In the first match-up, we have Serena from the Kalos region against Angie from the Sinnoh region!"


	5. Confrontation

_OK Serena, keep calm – you can do this. _She stood at one end of the arena, Fennekin next to her, the warmth of her presence the only comfort now. She had to win this. Angie was 20 metres away – was she thinking the same? Serena couldn't see any anxiety on her face, but then maybe overconfidence was a weakness?

"Let the battle begin!"

"Fennekin, I need you!"

"Shinx! Let's go!" Yelled Angie, throwing out a Pokeball revealing a Canine-like pokemon, about Fennekin's size.

"Wow – never seen that before!" gasped Serena, her hand automatically reaching for the Pokedex.

"Ooo, scared are we?" teased Angie. That got Serena angry. Quickly she put the Pokedex back in her pocket.

"Fine, Fennekin use Hidden Power!" Serena shouted. Fennekin leapt forth, and concentrating, formed a ball of light in front of her, before letting it fly forward toward Shinx.

"That all you got?!" taunted Angie. "Shinx dodge, then Quick Attack!" As the Hidden Power flew toward Shinx, the Pokemon dived out of the way, before using the momentum to launch an attack to the sides.

"Quick Fennekin, dodge it!" cried Serena, now worried. But Shinx was too quick. As Fennekin turned, she was hit in the side by the momentum of Shinx's attack, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Not a very tough Pokemon, is it?" laughed Angie, the insults continuing. "Why don't you just give up?" Serena growled.

"Because it would be against everything I've learnt from Ash!" she yelled. "I've travelled with Ash all over the Kalos region, and seen a lot of trainers who are strong. Some even stronger than Ash! But that hasn't stopped him – that's what is great about Ash! He fights through to the very end!" There was a brief silence across the field, before Serena was suddenly hailed by cheers from the crowd around her.

"Way to go Sister!" called Bonnie "You're the best!" Angie smiled and nodded.

"Then let's finish this bout!" she said, now with determination "Shinx, use Crunch!"

"Fennekin, ember!" Shinx began running toward Fennekin, who breathed in, before exerting a red hail of burning hot ember. Shinx started slowing down – The ember hurt, and was wearing him down. No. He couldn't give up! Striving with determination, he ran to Fennekin with his mouth open, and bit deep into the hide. It burned. He couldn't hold on, so he let go and ran back to his mistress to avoid a counter attack. But Fennekin was hurt too. She had taken a lot of damaged, and it was now a struggle for her even to stand.

Angie smiled. One more hit she had won. "Shinx, use Thundershock!" A bolt of lightning erupted from Shinx's tail, making its way toward the now struggling Fennekin. With a cry, Fennekin was drenched by a yellow halo, causing her to jolt in shock. It finished as abruptly as it had begun, and Fennekin fell to the floor, still. But NOT unconscious.

"It held on!" gasped Angie in dismay.

"Nice one, Fennekin!" called Serena "Now use Scratch!" But Fennekin didn't respond – She was paralyzed. "Oh no! Fennekin!" Serena exclaimed.

"Let's wrap this up!" called Angie, but Serena cut in:

"Fennekin, use Flamethrower!" A ball of fire formed from Fennekins mouth, and blasted toward Shinx."

"Shinx, Quick Attack!" gasped Angie, aware of the danger. But before Shinx could dodge, the Flamethrower hit him head on, causing him to get badly scorched. Grunting he began running forward.

"Fennekin, again Flamethrower!" Fennekin began creating another ball of flame, but too late – Shinx charged into Fennekin with a sudden change in acceleration taking everyone off-guard. Fennekin fell to the floor. "No Fennekin!" whispered Serena, collapsing in defeat aside her partner. Shinx had won. Angie had won. Had Serena learnt nothing from Ash? Slowly, she picked Fennekin up, and wondered away in defeat.

* * *

"So Max, you're up against Cameron next, who are you gonna choose?" asked Ash, as enthusiastic as ever.

"Well, gee. I've given it some thought, and a bit of research shows that Swellow is your most successful Pokemon." Concluded Max, thoughtfully.

"Sure thing! Here you go!" Ash handed the Pokeball to Max.

"And you'd best win this!" moaned a voice behind them. It was Bonnie.

"Gee thanks Bonnie, I'll try!" smiled Max.

"Be careful, though." Consoled Ash "Cameron may be a bit scatter-brained, but he has a reckless style which really supports him."

"Yeah, I guess..." mumbled Max. But he knew he couldn't win. Not if this guy had also been beaten Ash.

* * *

Giovanni surveyed the army before him. It was quite impressive actually – putting all the engineering expertise together, gave them a lot of Mechs with sizable power. The divisions of Pokemon would wait in the wings – Pokemon were more valuable to him than machines, and he didn't want to spoil them in the hands of useless Grunts. But this Mech army would be more than enough to take Pallet Town.

"Sir, if I may be sold bold," stated Jessie "The twerp who's been bugging us has a party today, and consequently Pallet town is filled with trainers!" Giovanni smiled.

"Good." He replied.


	6. May vs Dawn

"And Max's Swellow goes down! So the winner is Cameron and Swanna!" Serena sat on the grass, her head her hands. How could she lose?! She shouldn't have let Angie manipulate her like that – why had she gotten so worked up? Surely her connection with Ash went beyond the simply matter of winning/losing a Pokemon battle? Maybe it was just Angie's effect on her. Hearing the pad of someone coming over, she turned and saw Angie standing over her. But there was no malice or greed in her expression now – just a calm, yet serious smile.

"Um, hey..." began Angie.

"Hey yourself..." mumbled Serena in reply.

"Listen," said Angie "I guess I was a bit rude to you earlier. You aren't a bad trainer, and I was only trying to disgrace you, to win back Ash..."

"Seemed to work" Retorted Serena scornfully. Angie gasped.

"But it didn't!" she responded loudly "You put up an amazing fight, and when I tried to make you give up, you showed everything you've learnt from Ash, and surprised everyone!" A pause. Angie offered out her hand. "Let's shake on it. It was a good battle." Slowly, Serena accepted the handshake, and they chuckled.

"I guess it's too much to ask for you to stay away from my Ashy-boy" she winked.

"Pfff, obviously!" laughed Angie "But considering I was mean to you earlier, I'll give you a one-day head-start. If you don't ask Ash out tonight, then I will!"

"Gee, I'm sooo grateful!" glared Serena.

"You're welcome!" smiled Angie, skipping off "See ya later, alligator!"

* * *

"And the next match up is between the two great coordinators; Dawn of the Sinnoh region, against May of the Hoenn region!" There was suddenly much excitement in the air, as the two trainers faced each other on the battlefield, which was slowly beginning to wear down. Then silence filled the air, as everyone waited in anticipation for the announcer.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Venusaur, let's go!"

"Mamoswine, spotlight!" shouted Dawn, skimming a Pokeball out into the arena. The earth shook as two giant titans jumped into the arena, roaring battle-cries as they did so.

"Hmm, it seems that Dawn has the advantage with an Ice-type" motioned announcer Tom. The professor nodded.

"True, but May has more experience, and a Venusaur won't succum to the special attacks from Mamoswine, it'll be a close call!"

"Mamoswine use Ice Fang!" called Dawn, causing the Pokemon to charge forward, it's tusks glowing blue.

"Venusaur, dodge and use Petal Dance!" Venusaur darted to the right, but it was too slow, allowing Mamoswine to anticipate it. Ice Fang hit Venusaur hard and fast, its petals doing little to protect it.

"Don't give them a chance! Ice Fang again!" shouted Dawn, now in serious battle-mode. Mamoswine turned, and aiming toward Venusaur again, began charging again.

"Venusaur, rolling Dodge!" cried May.

"That isn't a move?!" wondered Ash. Just as the Mamoswine reached Venusaur, Venusaur rolled on its side out of the way of the icy-charge. Awe filled the stadium.

"Wow! Nice improvised move!" cheered Ash.

"That had a delightful flavour, with exquisite surprise, and supremely executed!" chimed in Cilan.

_I won't be able to get near her like that. _Thought Dawn, gritting her teeth. Physical move were now rendered useless against that defence. Unless she could get close without May seeing.

"Mamoswine use dig!" she commanded, with clarity and determination. This was going to work. Or so she thought. Mamoswine did as it was told, and disappeared under the earth.

"Saur, use Vine lift!" responded May. Everyone gasped. Another improvised move?! To everyone's amazement, 8 vines shot out of Venusaur's back, and planted themselves at regular intervals about 10 meters away. Tension then flooded the vines, as Venusaur began to lift its body into the air. It was impossible! A body of 100kg floating in the air from mere vines?! Mamoswine finally came up out of the ground but Venusaur was already up 6 or 7 metres in the air.

"How's that Dawn?!" Smirked May.

"Pretty good, I'll give that," replied Dawn, who seemed confident, considering the situation. "But you've forgotten one thing." May's expression dropped abruptly.

"What's that?!" she gasped.

"Your Venusaur has nowhere to go," Replied Dawn "Mamoswine Ice Shard!"

"Venusaur, block it with Razor leaf!" A torrent of Ice blades shot toward Venusaur, who was trying to release Razor Leaf, but with difficulty. The number of vines it was concentrating on were stopping the move reach its potential. The few leaves which were released did little to stop the bolts of ice, which hit Venusaur directly.

Venusaur couldn't last much longer up there; soon he'd fall and probably faint. There had to be a way out!

"Venusaur, wrap your vines around Mamoswine, and Body Slam onto it!" Venusaur nodded through gritted teeth, and the vines shot around Mamoswine, as Venusaur fell. Dawn gasped.

"Quick Mamoswine, get OUT OF THERE!" she cried, suddenly aware of the trap she'd let herself fall for. Mamoswine struggled but couldn't release itself. Then Venusaur hit the ground. Silence across the field. Venusuar struggled to stay into consciousness. But under it... was Mamoswine still able to battle? Venusaur put on leg up. Then the ground shook, and 5 metres from Venusaur appeared Mamoswine, unharmed.

"What?!" cried May, desperately.

"I commanded Mamoswine to dig, just as Venusaur landed on it, taking away the soft landing you wanted, and giving Mamoswine no damage at all.

"Venusaur, can you still fight?" asked May. Venusaur struggled to his feet defiantly in reply. "Great, then finish it with Solar Beam!" Venusaur slowly began drawing in sunlight.

"Quick Mamoswine, finish this with Ice Shard now!" Shouted Dawn quickly. Mamoswine nodded, and let dozen of Icy lines fly toward Venusaur. They hit Venusaur head on with no defence, causing major damage. It was now a test of endurance. Would Venusaur last? The Solar Beam charged up fully. Venusaur let out on last cry, before falling to the ground in defeat, without the strength to direct the Beam, which shot straight up into the sky. Venusaur was down. Dawn had won.

* * *

The games continued, with Ash, Ritchie, Paul and Gary also making it through into the next round.

"And now it's time for the final match-up of this round!" called Tom "Misty from Kanto, against Iris from Unova!"

"Go Gyaridos!" shouted Misty, a Pokeball flying out of her hand as she did so.

"Dragonite, let's go!" responded Iris.


	7. Dragons

Silence descended over the plantation. All eyes were fixed on Misty, Gyarados, Iris and Dragonite. A Gym leader of Water, against a Potential Dragon-Master. Two of the best at their types.

"Dragonite, use Dragon Rush!"

"Gyarados, protect and then use Hyper Beam!" Suddenly the Battle field was alive, and chaos reigned. Dragonite flew forward, carrying an ever-growing template of a Dragon with it. A translucent wall formed around Gyarados, just as Dragonite flew into it. An explosion from the impact caused the field to be covered in dust.

Misty's trying to separate us! Thought Iris.

"Get out of there, Dragonite!" she cried. Slowly, Dragonite stepped out from the cloud, looking at Iris inquisitively. "There's a Hyper Beam charging up now!" cried Iris – fly up to get out of it!" Dragonite shook his head, and turned back toward the cloud a beam forming in his hands.

"Wait, Dragonite knows Hyper Beam too?!" gasped Iris. The two beams gained volume, getting more blinding by the second, until all at once, they were released and flew toward one another at unimaginable speed. An defening explosion, even greater than the first made the field completely invisible.

"Gyarados, use Hydro Pump up in the air!" called Misty. The response was 100 Litres of water flying up in the air.

"Thanks, Misty – you've just let both me and Dragonite know where your Gyarados is!" laughed Iris, looking toward where the Hydro Pump had come from "Dragonite, use Thunder Punch in the centre!" Dragonite roared, as it flew in toward Gyarados, its fist glowing yellow. As the punch connected, however, both Gyarados and Dragonite were shocked with 2000 Volts, causing them to cry and fall to the floor.

"Wha-" gasped Iris. "How?!"

"You see, I knew Dragonite had Thunder Punch." Explained Misty. "That's why I allowed the collision to happen – I then got Gyarados to use Hydro Pump, in order to combine all dust particles in the air with water molecules. As Dragonite flew through the cloud, he got saturated with water. When he charged up his Thunder Punch, it caused him too to be electrocuted, thanks to the coating of water around his body."

"Wow, that's as impressive as Ash's Counter Shield!" cheered Dawn.

"Thank you," smiled Misty "And now that now that Thunder Punch is disabled, Gyarados use Hydro Pump!" Gyarados nodded in reply, releasing tonnes of water toward Dragonite.

"Dragonite, dodge and use Thunder Punch!" Dragonite began to charge, his fist clenching and filling with electricity. But this time before he could reach Gyarados, Dragonite got shocked by his own Thunder again.

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam, quickly!" The Beam of light was surprisingly sudden, flying from Gyarados' mouth, hitting Dragonite hard, who fell to the floor in exhaustion.

"You just don't get it, do you?" exclaimed Misty "You're Dragonite's covered in water – use Thunder Punch, and the water conducts the electricity all over Dragonite. For a flying-type it's super effective; I'm surprised Dragonite's still going."

"You're really starting to bug me..." Muttered Iris "Dragonite, can you still battle?" Dragonite struggled to his feet. Slowly, but surely he stood, roaring defiantly. "Great, then use Dragon Rush!"

"Block with Hyper Beam!" The 2 moves began to unfold; Dragonite was suddenly in the air, surrounded by a blue glow. A light appeared in Gyarados' mouth. The moves collided.

"FINISH THE MOVE!" Screamed Iris. Slowly the blue flash moved toward Gyarados. The water pokemon was dishing-out the greatest Hyper Beam it could. But Dragonite kept gaining ground. Eventually, it was too much for Gyarados giving up, releasing Dragonite, who's sheer momentum of the move drove them both 20 feet into the ground. Misty and Iris ran to the hole created by their 2 pokemon.

"They're still standing!" gasped Misty.

"Gyarados, flood the hole with Hydro Pump!" Almost instantly, water came gushing out of Gyarados' mouth, filling the hole, at a tremendous speed.

"Water pokemon are faster in the water..." murmured Brock

"True," agreed Cilan "It doesn't look good for Iris."

"Dragonite use Ice Beam!" yelled Iris, now in hysterics.

"Gyarados, whirlpool now!" retorted Misty. Dragonite started gaining power for his Ice Beam, but before he could do so, Gyarados soared through the water, sending Dragonite spinning. Iris could do nothing now.

"Finish it up with Dragon Tail!" Shouted Misty. Everyone gasped.

"That'll be super effective!" gasped May.

"No..." pleaded Iris. Gyarados manoeuvred under Dragonite, quickly charging its tail, and swinging it right into the Pokemon. The force shot Dragonite out of the water, who fell defeated onto the ground before Iris.

"Dragonite is unable to battle!" called Gary, "So the winner is Gyarados and Misty!" The silence from the crowd ended, everyone cheering for such a great battle.

"Thank you Dragonite... you did great!" smiled Iris, comforting her fallen pokemon.

"This is all you have to offer?!" roared Paul across the battlefield. Round 2 was over, and it was now the quarter-finals. Paul was up first with his Weavile, against Angie and Shinx. But even though the battle had just begun, Paul was already massively up.

"Oh, no! We're just getting started!" retorted Angie, trying to sound confident. "Shinx use Bite!"

"You're wasting my time!" replied Paul "Weavile, finish this with Metal Claw!" Shinx ran toward Weavile determinedly. Just as it reached the Ice-type, however, the claw charged, smacking Shinx in the face, sending it half-way across the field. Shinx struggled to its feet slowly. But it was too much. Letting out one defiant gasp, it fainted

"Weavile, return!" ordered Paul. "Not bad, mate... you did OK..." Then he turned to Angie.

"Your battle style is pathetic, I thought I'd be given a challenge.

"Oh yeah?!" Retorted Angie "Well, just so you know – I'm not a proper trainer! I'm actually looking to take over the daycare centre in Sinnoh!"

"Pathetic," responded Paul, turning away from the field "People like you don't belong with pokemon."

* * *

Serena watched the action unfold in horror.

"I don't understand..." she whispered.

"Huh?" asked Ash, who was now with her.

"How could Paul be so..."

"I guess you can see why I and he didn't get on at first!" chuckled Ash. "But Paul's like that – He's so desperate to become a master, that he doesn't care about anything else... at all... So when you see him shout like that, he doesn't mind if it hurts their feelings – he's just trying to make us all stronger."

"Ash!"

Ash turned in surprise to see Paul.

"I believe I'll see you in the final?"

"That's right!" cheered Ash, standing up suddenly "I am so psyched!"

"Hmm, in that case, how about we raise the stakes?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... 1 v 1 sounds a bit boring... How's about a full battle rematch?"

"A full battle?!" Screamed Serena.

"Great, sounds awesome!" responded Ash "Let's do it!"


	8. Combinations

The semi-finals had finally arrived. Following some brutal quarter-finals with Ash beating Dawn, Ritchie's Zippo taking out Cameron's Lucario, and Gary narrowly scraping ahead of Misty. First, came the fated encounter that Ash had always wanted to try again. For he was against the trainer he had lost to; he was against Ritchie. The field was now burning with so much intensity; Bonnie was worried they'd explode with the heat.

"OH MY GOSH, THIS IS GOING TO BE SO EPIC!" screamed Barry, jumping up and down next to Bianca. Dawn laughed, before looking at Barry curiously. He and Bianca seemed to be getting on surprisingly well now, considering their little collision earlier.

But now it was all down to Ash and Ritchie. **(Author's Note: While I don't explain the epicness of this battle as much in terms of how the trainers attack (like I did with Misty and May) that's because these 2 are so good they know what's happening. See If you can guess some of the moments which turn the battle and why.)**

"Don't think I'll go easy on you Ash, even if it is your birthday!" called Ritchie.

"I don't want you to!" retorted Ash "I wanna beat you at your best; give it all you've got!"

"Alright, Cruise – Let's go!"

"Gliscor, I need you!" The red flash of Pokemon being sent out flew across the field, revealing the shapes of Ash's impressive Gliscor, pitted against a very imposing beast indeed.

"Woah, Cruise evolved?!" gasped Ash.

"Yup!" laughed Ritchie. Standing tall and proud, Cruise had become a Tyranitar. The air had gone stale. Ritchie had gotten strong.

"Alright, Gliscor – Up into the air!" At once the bat-like creature was gone – 40 feet in the air circling around the Battlefield over the Tyranitar.

"Cruise, Hyper Beam let's go!" The familiar yellow ball of gas appeared in front of Cruise's face, slowly gaining volume. But it didn't stop growing... passing the normal head-size of Cruise, and becoming around a meter in diameter!

"That Hyper Beam is enourmous!" gasped Gary Oak.

"Do it!" Yelled Ritchie. The Hyper Beam began trembling with Tyranitar as it reached its optimum level of energy. Then it released. Blasting up into the sky after Gliscor.

"Gliscor, dodge!" Gliscor nodded, and started heading North. But the Hyper Beam followed. Slowly turning with Gliscor, it wouldn't be shaken off! "Gliscor, stop and use Stone Edge!"

"What?!" everyone gasped, Gliscor would certainly be engulfed in the beam! But Gliscor did as Ash commanded, and immediately a flash occurred, causing sharp stone shards to form around Gliscor. Then the Beam hit.

"Endure it, Gliscor!" Shouted Ash. This had to work. As the beam reached the creature, the stones encircling it slashed the Beam into fragments. But a portion of the beam still hit its target. Gliscor flew back with damage.

"Well Ash, I'm afraid it seems your plan didn't quite work this time!" bragged Ritchie.

"Don't be so sure!" replied Ash "Finish the move, Gliscor!" Gliscor flew down releasing the stones as he did so.

"Cruise you use Stone edge as well!"

"Now Gliscor, use X-Scissor!" The stones from each creature intercepted each other, but it seemed Tyranitar's stones didn't have as much momentum, and Gliscors attack began pushing forward. Then, in the midst of it all, Gliscor burst into the fray. Flying into the attack, it slashed at the Tyranitar who was reeling from surprise. The impact caused Tyranitar to fly back and hit the ground hard.

"Cruise, take down!"

"Gliscor Giga-Drain!" Cruise slowly struggled to its feet, turning to look in the direction of Gliscor, whose attack had already started. Exhausted, the Pokemon slowly started to run forward, trying to gain enough momentum for the move, but Ritchie could see that it wouldn't work. Gliscor's move would damage Cruise to much. As they neared each other, Ritchie finally called out.

"Cruise, jump to dodge!" The Tyranitar stopped in its tracks, and powerfully leaped high into the air, just as Gliscor flew by. The flaring lights around the diving Gliscor died down; the move hadn't worked.

"Gliscor, circle back around, and use X-Scissor!" called Ash. Gliscor didn't slow down, it spun around and headed toward the, now falling, Tyranitar.

"Cruise, use stone edge!" The 2 moves raced toward one another and collided in mid-air. But Gliscor broke through the stones and reached Tyranitar, slicing at the Torso, before finally falling to the ground.

"Now, Cruise! Let's finish this with Earthquake!" The green Pokemon nodded, and prepared to do a heavy jump. But it couldn't! Some of the stone shards had lodged themselves over Cruise's feet, making him completely immobile! By now Gliscor was on his feet, and preparing to finish Cruise with a Giga-Drain.

"Hyper Beam!" cried Ritchie. "Quickly!" The Hyper Beam didn't have time to reach its impressive size this time, it charged up and fired, just as Gliscor reached Cruise. The explosion filled the field. Slowly, it cleared, revealing both Pokemon on the floor. Together they struggled to their feet, and each gave a defiant battle-cry.

Then Cruise fell to the floor again. The Tyranitar was down for good.

* * *

"Great job, Ash!" laughed Ritchie "That was an intense battle!" The two young trainers were back at the buffet, stacking their plates yet again with food.

"So was that Hyper Beam, man!" replied Ash "That was out of this league! How did you do that?!" Ritchie laughed.

"It was when I was travelling through Hoenn... I met a pokemon called Ho-Oh."

"Never heard of that..." wondered Ash.

"Well, Team Rocket was after it, trying to make it their own, and me and the gang stepped in to save the creature. Luckily, we were able to stop Team Rocket, and Ho-Oh gave Cruise that "power" as it were, to make Hyper Beams that powerful!"

"Haha! Really? That's awesome man!" laughed Ash "Team Rocket just don't seem to quit do they?"

* * *

Far away machinery was beginning grind into gear. A couple of hundred grunts were swarming into trucks, while mechs were also beginning to power up and march forward. They had been hiding in the mountains for too long now. It had finally been settled; they would march south through the region under the cover of night, then attack at dawn. There were 4 objectives. Capture the professor. Steal at least 50 Pokémon. Start a base in Pallet Town. And of course, capture that Pikachu.

Giovanni was quite content with the situation. Team Rocket finally had the opportunity to overthrow Pallet town. The beacon of light which had somehow always been out of reach would be a great symbol of Team Rocket's new power. It would be made even greater with all the trainers from different regions. They would spread the news well, and even put a slight struggle.

The army slowly began to move forward through the trees. Just as the sun began to set.

* * *

**So things are progressing! The tournament is nearly finished, and Team Rocket are on their way! Anyway's just thought I'd explain a bit what happened in the battle to see if you guessed right.**

**So Ash is pretty shocked when that massive Hyper Beam starts following Gliscor, but he knows that Gliscor can't avoided so he uses stone edge. The stones surrounding Gliscor then absorb a lot of the energy, both taking away the damage inflicted upon Gliscor, as well as essentially making that move much more powerful. So then when the 2 stone edges collide, Gliscor's obviously wins, and Ash uses that momentum to make a super powerful combo move.**

**When Gliscor flies toward Tyranitar later though, Ritchie uses stone edge defensively, since this is super effective on a flying type. But Gliscor is prepared for this thanks to special training, and is able to break through this attack, picking up a couple of the stones as he does so. Then while he uses X-Scissor, he makes sure to fling the stones down at Tyranitar's feet. Since he was also using the stones to slash at Tyranitar in X-scissor, it powered up the move further. So really Gliscor won because of some sweet combo moves B-)**

**Till next time!**


End file.
